The kind people of Leisure Arts sent me The Knook Value Pack which retails for $12.99. It comes with 10 Knooks and 10 cords in the most popular sizes. I was exited it came with so many sizes because I was worried I would only get a couple sizes which would limit what I could make.

First off, I noticed the Knooks are plastic. I’m not a huge fan of plastic hooks when crocheting but I thought I give it a shot anyway.

I grabbed some Lion Brand Modern Baby I had sitting around and the 4.5mm Knook. I was a little excited and just started trying what I thought was right. I made a chain, then picked up the stitches (like you would in Tunisian), pulled the cord through and went to the next row. Right away, I noticed the rough point of the Knook was catching on my yarn. So I grabbed a nail file and filed it down. Problem solved.

Next, I wondered what else I could do with it and realized my kit came with no instructions. Google to the rescue! I wasn’t ready to buy a pattern or anything yet so with a quick search I found Leisure Arts has quite a few videos HERE on YouTube. I started with this one.

Oops! I did it wrong! You have to pay careful attention to how they yarn over in the videos. Otherwise, you’ll end up with twisted stitches. Once I sorted that out, I was Knooking! At least I thought. After a few rows I went back to look at the video and ugh…I was inserting my Knook wrong! Which actually made sense because it’s how you insert your needle when knitting.

Ok, got that all sorted. Now, I’m Knooking!

I decided to do a small swatch in the knit stitch just to get used to it. No too shabby. I think I need to work on my tension a bit as it was a little all over the place.

Once I got going I started to enjoy it. There were a few things that bugged though. One was the hook catching like I said above but I fixed that. Next, the sizes and Leisure Arts website is printed in raised letters on The Knook so when you pull the Knook through to go to the next row they rub on the yarn, kind of catching n it. Also, the end of the cord (I believe it heat sealed to keep from fraying) catches on the yarn a bit when pulling it through as well.

After I was done with my swatch I wanted to try a little project. Leisure Arts only has a few patterns to download and to get a book would mean waiting for shipping. I found THIS cute bangle pattern by ambah and made one for my daughter. How cute!?

It was really easy to make it with The Knook. I just followed the video below to work in the round and followed the pattern (I adjusted the starting ch to fit my daughters wrist). Super easy. Took about 30 minutes.

Overall, I enjoyed The Knook even with the drawbacks I mentioned above. Some people say if you already know how to knit you might as well knit but I know how to knit and I think I enjoy this more. Could be all my years of crocheting that make me feel this way though. If you crochet and just can’t knit I’d definitely recommend The Knook. Just be sure to actually follow the instructions and not do what I did in the beginning. However, if you are already a seasoned knitter and enjoy it, this is probably not the product for you.

One drawback would be patterns. Like I said, Leisure Arts has a limited number of patterns to choose from but they have a bunch of videos HERE. I’m lucky because I know how to knit and I feel pretty confident that I could use The Knook following a regular knit pattern (like I did for the bangle). In fact, I plan n trying a little sweater when I can find the time this Fall. It might take some playing with to figure out other stitches but I think it could be done. If you don’t know how to read knit patterns I could imagine you’d have a harder time but still doable.

If you’d like to purchase you own Knook, Leisure Arts has a few to choose from. They also have some that a bamboo which I think I’d enjoy more than the plastic. Click the image below to purchase your Knook and use the coupon code to save 20%.

Do you have a Knook? Do you enjoy it?

Disclaimer: Like I mentioned above, the kind people of Leisure Arts sent me The Knook Value Pack free of charge. They have not paid me for this review and it is 100% my honest opinion on the product.